FOUR NATIONS
At last we can all book our tickets for the 2016 Four
Nations tournament after the fixtures and venues were released recently.
I am really pleased that Hull KR’s Lightstream Stadium is
hosting the Australia v. Scotland match up –the opening game of the tournament
– as this will give me the opportunity to take my Skirlaugh U7s side to an
international match that will have on show some wonderful talents from the NRL
and Super League – I am sure that match will be a sell out.
Alongside the Lightstream Stadium in Hull hosting Scotland’s
fixture with the Aussies it is fantastic to see Cumbria hosting a Four Nations
match also. The Scots will head up to Workington Town’s Zebra Claims Stadium
(give me Craven Park and Derwent Park any day, please) for their final group match against New Zealand
on Friday 11th November.
I am sure the Cumbrian public will sell out the 10,000
capacity stadium as they have an affinity with the Scottish National RL team
already having hosted two of their 2013 World Cup matches against Tonga and
Italy – both matches drew crowds in excess of 7,000 – and their 2014 European
Championship victory over Wales.
The only slight disappointment for me is that one of the Scot’s
games could not be held in Scotland.
I am sure there are some Scottish Football League grounds up
there with the right capacity and facilities to take a game on.
I am confused by some of the other venue choices, in
particular the holding of the final at Anfield – home of Liverpool FC.
Without a doubt it is a wonderful stadium but has hardly any
Rugby League pedigree in it’s history nor is it in a development area. It
currently has a capacity of only 45,500 – although work will take place at the
end of the football season on a new stand that will increase the capacity to
54,000.
Down the road we have Old Trafford which holds the Super League
Grand Final every year, is a marquee venue and has a capacity in excess of
75,000 – either it is unavailable or, more likely, the RFL are concerned that
England may not reach the final and the attendance would not be suitable for
such a big stadium.
I kind of understand that so my choice to hold the final
would have been the Olympic Stadium which has a capacity of around 60,000 –
surely an Australia / New Zealand final would have sold that venue out and with
the prospect of a strong England team coached by the legendary Wayne Bennett
then I am sure a large number of tickets could have been pre-sold anyway.
As it is, that stadium will host England’s game against
Australia and there really needs to be a big push to ensure that the stadium is
sold out for this fixture, so that means the ticketing prices need to be at a
level that fans can afford. We also need to get an atmosphere in that ground
because it was as flat as a pancake for the Test against New Zealand last year
– although, hopefully, the match against the Aussies will be a bit more
exciting.
This is the last group game before the final and could
pivotal to whether England will contest the following week’s big match at
Anfield.
The choice of venue for the double header of New Zealand v.
Australia and England v. Scotland on Saturday November 5th is, for
me, slightly bizarre.
I know Coventry have a semi-professional team and the RFL
will be trying to promote the sport in the Midlands but the choice of the Ricoh
Arena does not sit well with me for some reason – Coventry and rugby league
just do not go together.
I would have much preferred to see the double header held in
somewhere like Newcastle where I believe there is a far greater opportunity for
the sport to grow – but I guess that the RFL have looked at Coventry as a
central location and it is easily accessible by supporters from the South West
also – I hope it sell’s out. |
| Semi the Australian. |
Instead, by the time you are reading this he will have made
his test debut, as Kangaroo representative no. 805, for Australia against New
Zealand in Newcastle.
I am afraid that the decision by new Australia coach Mal Meninga
to select Radaradra on the wing for the Test makes an even greater mockery of
international rugby league than it already is.
Fijian Radradra has, in the last 12 months, become one of
the best and most destructive wingers in world rugby league.
He is 23 years of age, Fijian born, is extremely patriotic
towards his home country, is heavily involved in raising funds to help the
island that was devastated by Cyclone Winston back in February and has already
played 4 Test Matches for the Bati.
Now, all of a sudden he has decided that he wants to play
for Australia at international level.
Can you find anyone who is less Australian than Semi?
The Aussies are breaking no laws or rules - he is now
eligible as he has lived in the country long enough to gain residency.
I am a huge believer that we need international rugby league
to be much bigger than it is now to realise the potential of this sport and the
Pacific Islands, in particular, breed wonderfully talented and physically
dominant players that are constantly picked off by Australia and New Zealand.
The Pacific Islands of Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa
and the Cook Islands especially constantly produce top class rugby players for
both codes and the Rugby League International Federation (RLIF) need to look at
ways of increasing these islands exposure to international rugby league and
assisting them financially.
The majority of the people on these islands are not rich and
generally leave them to move to Australia or New Zealand in search of a better
life and more money and, should their children become talented sportsman they
are already eligible for the Kangaroos and Kiwis and, if good enough, are
picked off at will.
Radaradra is different – he lived on Fiji until 4 years ago
when Parramatta scouted him at a sevens RU tournament in Dubai and took a
chance on him – his parent’s still live on Fiji and he is an archetypal Fijian
who loves his family and country.
But this comes down to money – by playing for the Kangaroos
he will earn more money than he would if he continued to play for Fiji and this
is a big motivating factor for Semi because it enables him to look after his
family on Fiji much better.
He will get paid by the Kangaroos, he will be able to force
through a bigger contract with the Eels, or someone else in their current
predicament, and his endorsement potential will go through the roof.
But it leaves poor old Fiji without one of the best players
they have had in the last decade.
Bear in mind as well that if Radradra is jettisoned by the
Kangaroos after May’s Test Match against New Zealand he cannot play for the
Bati for 2 years under the current eligibility rules, meaning a world class
player would be in the international wilderness in the prime of his career.
Do Australia need Semi Radradra to play on the wing for
them?
Haven’t they they got enough talented Australian born
wingmen at their disposal to choose from?
Shouldn’t Radradra continue to play for his home island and
make them a stronger and more competitive outfit?
I am not against players earning a decent living but it just
seems wrong to me, and damaging to the credibility of international rugby
league, that a player as high profile as Radradra can change his allegiance
from his home country to another in order to boost his career and earnings.
This has been a long term concern in the sport and the RLIF
really does need to clear up the eligibility rules and stop players swapping
back and forth between countries – it has been ridiculous for far too long and
needs sorting out. |
| The Eels owe Watmough. |
The 6 point deduction and paltry £5000.00 fine that Salford
received for breaking the Super League salary cap is a slap on the wrist
compared to the 12 points deduction that Parramatta Eels have received for
breaking the NRL salary cap in 5 of the past 6 seasons.
They have also been stripped of the Auckland 9’s tournament
that they won earlier this year and fined A$1,000,000.
Koukash admits he may have made mistakes with the Salford
salary cap and individual player payments back in 2014 and 2015 but will not
admit any wrongdoing and therefore decides he can declare war on the RFL, again.
The RFL can now sanction the deduction of up to 20 points for
breaking the cap so he should have a good look at what has happened at the
Eels, keep his mouth shut, pay the fine and get on with re-building his club.
He probably spends at least £5000.00 on his horses daily.
The Eels have overspent by A$3m over the last 3 years and
are currently A$500,000 over the cap this year. They have been warned numerous
times but they have constantly denied any wrongdoing and have not put their
house in order.
Every competition point the Eels have gained this season has
been docked, leaving them bottom of the table and they cannot begin to accrue
points until they can prove that they are back within the salary cap. (This
decision has now been overturned and the club CAN accrue points whilst legal
action is being taken buy their Board of Directors)
My major concern is why it has taken so long, with the Eels
in particular, for them to be punished. Surely. The NRL should have acted
sooner and should not have allowed the Eels transgressions to get so out of
hand.
The club will owe a great amount of gratitude to Anthony
Watmough if he goes ahead and retires to take himself off the salary cap
because it will save them having to make some difficult decisions on players
contracts. Watmough is one of the top paid players at the club, currently
injured, and the loss of his salary will take them back below the salary cap
for this year.
There is no doubt that the management of the Red Devils has
improved greatly in the last few months – probably because Koukash has inwardly
accepted that he has done wrong and, in particular, since the arrival of Tim
Sheens on the rugby side.
Contrast that to the Eels who have clearly disregarded the
rules of the salary cap to a major degree over a number of years and with a
management team of 5 people that need to resign immediately rather than try to
defend their own reputations.
If they have any kind of feeling for the club, players and
fans they will resign and allow the club to get back on track with new and
better management.
The Red Devils and the Eels have been much more competitive
outfits in 2016 then they have been for some time and have played some great
rugby league and it is such a shame that incompetent management, or just plain
egos, has made life so much harder for the players out on the field.
I have a lot of time for Koukash but his war against the RFL
is becoming tiresome and it is now time for him to be man enough to hold his
hands up, accept responsibility and continue on with the task of re-building
the Red Devils.
The points deduction may condemn them to the qualifiers for
the second successive season but they have a much improved squad and they will
have no problems securing their Super League place for 2017, whereas the Eels
have 15 games left to rescue their season and need at least 12 wins to make the
8, although it does not sit easy with me that if they make the 8 they will Have
a chance of winning the title in the same year that they have been proven to be
cheating the salary cap. |
| Josh Chsarnley |
We never want to lose any of our top players but I
understand that sometimes a player needs a change of scenery or a new challenge
– whether that’s with a new club, a new country
or in a new sport.
It has been clear to everyone that Charnley has not been
playing at the high level that we expected from him for some time now although
he seems to be getting back to his best form in 2016.
I expected him to be a shining star of rugby league for
years to come and a fixture on the Warriors and England wing for many, many
years.
I remember back to 2010 when he was starting out at Wigan
and was taken on loan by my club, Hull KR, for a few weeks.
Justin Morgan was our Head Coach at the time and he had seen
Charnley playing at Academy level and recognised a special talent. He had an
outstanding loan spell with us scoring 5 tries in 5 appearances including a try
in the Hull Derby and a hat-trick against Castleford Tigers – he quickly became
a fans favourite.
Morgan wanted to sign him permanently but Wigan knew what
they had and he quickly became a phenomenal success for the Warriors on the
wing and has scored at around a try a game in around 150 appearances for the
Warriors in all competitions and has also scored 8 tries in 7 international
appearances for England.
He seemed to lose his way somewhat in 2015 through injury,
loss of form and the emergence of both Joe Burgess and, in particular, Dom
Manfredi who kept Charnley out of the 2015 Grand Final defeat to Leeds Rhinos.
12 months earlier you would never have thought that Charnley
would not be part of a Warriors Grand Final squad or would be dropped
completely from the England squad.
He has regained his place on a regular basis in 2016, due
mainly to Joe Burgess signing for the Sydney Roosters but, ironically, appears
to be performing as well as he has ever done for the Warriors.
The big question is what will he achieve in Rugby Union?
The last Wigan player to swap codes with the Sale Sharks was
Jason Robinson and he became a legend in the Union game as well – winning the
World Cup in 2003 when he scored England’s only try, making 51 international
appearances, including a spell as Captain, making 5 appearances for the British
and Irish Lions and winning the Guinness Premiership with the Sharks in 2006.
Those are some boots to fill and at just 25 years of age (by
the time he get’s to Sale anyway) he will have a bit of time to settle in at
either wing or full back but he will find it very difficult to break into an
England squad that has just won the Grand Slam for the first time since 2003.
A change of scenery is sometimes required to give a player
back the necessary fire to forge ahead with their career’s and I sincerely hope
that this is the case with Charnley and that, should he comeback to Rugby
League one day, he will return as a successful and well respected dual code
international.
 |
| Widdop in St. George colours. |
If I was Wayne Bennett, the new England Head Coach, I would
be looking at different options to fill the stand off berth in the end of year
Four Nations tournament.
I do not rate Gareth Widdop as a world class stand off.
I thought he was average playing for England in the Test
Series against New Zealand last year and his form this season for St. George
Illawarra Dragons has, so far, not been what I would expect of a Test half
back.
At his best he is a decent player with an average kicking
game who plays well intermittently for the Dragons.
I think we have better options in Super League that can open
up an opposition defence much better than Widdop can.
Bennett should talk to his newly announced assistant coach
Denis Betts about the Widnes Vikings skipper Kevin Brown.
Brown was in the form of his life back in 2014 and still did
not get selected for that years Four Nations by then Head Coach Steve McNamara.
He had a dip in form in 2015 which meant he did not have a chance of selection
for the aforementioned Test Series against the Kiwis.
Prior to the Easter fixtures this year, which injury
prevented him from taking part in, Brown had been back to his imperious best
and was the inspiration behind the Vikings rise to the top of the table – it is
noticeable that the Vikings have crashed back down to earth whilst he has been
in and out of the side through injury since Easter.
It was back in 2010 when McNamara had just been appointed England
Head Coach that he surprised everyone by calling up a young 21 year old Halifax
born lad who had made just 2 NRL appearances for Melbourne Storm and was back
up full back to the legendary Billy Slater.
Widdop has gone on to play stand off for the Storm before a
big money move to the Dragons at the end of 2013.
He has now earned 18 England caps and seems a permanent
fixture in the side, so how likely is it that an NRL coach like Bennett will
look elsewhere in the Super League for an alternative to Widdop?
Brown is an extremely skilful and creative half back with a
wonderful dummy and brilliant passing game who is good enough to play at
international level and deserves an opportunity.
But he isn’t the only stand off pushing for Widdop’s spot.
Wigan half back George Williams made two test appearances
against New Zealand last year at scrum half alongside Widdop and was inspired
in the First Test win at Hull before a disappointing performance in the 2nd
Test meant he lost his place to team mate Matty Smith for the decisive and
ultimately successful Third Test at Wigan.
Williams has missed the start of the 2016 season due to
injury but is definitely a player, when fit and on form, that could do a very
good job for England.
 |
| The legendary Mick Sullivan. |
You can read my tribute to Hull Kingston Rovers legend Millward,
who passed away earlier this week, here http://rugbyleaguelife.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/roger-millward-mbe-legend.html .He was a player, and man, so revered and
respected at the red and whites and throughout the game of rugby league that
Hull KR have taken the wonderful step of retiring the number 6 jersey with
immediate effect.
Mick
Sullivan, who died on April 5th aged 82, made a record 46
appearances for Great Britain before retiring in 1966.
That
record has since been equalled by Garry Schofield but it has never been
overtaken.
He
scored 41 tries for Great Britain and played in a record 36 consecutive Test
Matches from his debut against Australia in the 1954 World Cup.
He
began his professional career with Huddersfield and was transferred to Wigan
for a then world record fee of £9,500 in 1957 before St Helens broke that
record by paying £11,000 to take him to Knowsley Road in 1961.
Mick
played an important part in four Ashes triumphs – in 1956, 1959, 1960 and 1962
– and was only 20 when he helped Britain to victory in the inaugural World Cup
in France in 1954.
His
speed and power helped him score 342 tries, including a chart-topping 50 in the
1957-58 season and a phenomenal 120 in 102 matches for Yorkshire, England and
Great Britain on the representative stage.
He
scored tries in Challenge Cup Final victories for Wigan against Workington in
1958 and against Hull in 1959. He was also a member of Wigan’s victorious
championship squad in 1960.
He
scored a hat trick in the decisive Ashes Test victory against Australia in 1958
after playing in the infamous international in Brisbane known as the “Rorke’s
Drift” Test.
Mick
also had stints with York, and as player-coach with Dewsbury, before going to
Australia, where he was captain and coach of Junee in New South Wales from 1966
to 1968.
He was
one of 25 members of the Rugby League Hall of Fame.
RIP to two legends of rugby league.
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